Of Tricksters and Transfers
by WhimsicL
Summary: He had her all figured out…or so he thought. She didn't like him at all…or so she thought. / NiouOC
1. Chapter 1

**Of Tricksters and Transfers**

He had her all figured out…or so he thought. She didn't like him at all…or so she thought.

**A/N: **Hi friends! I decided to give writing an OC story a shot, and I tried to stay consciously aware of my character and make sure she isn't a Sue, but if I have failed to do so...don't hesitate to kindly point it out to me =] I learn from mistakes pretty well.

Hmm well I decided to write a Niou story mainly because his character intrigues me...and I guess I wanted a challenge, because MAN is he difficult to write. Oh well. Never hurts to try, right?

But enough of my ramblings. On with the story!

* * *

Niou Masaharu leaned back in his chair, chewing his gum before blowing a huge bubble. He made sure it popped loudly, watching his history teacher flinch and turn around with a glare. A corner of his mouth went up to form a devious smile. _Mission accomplished._

"Niou-kun, how many times do I have to ask you not to chew bubble gum in class?" The teacher's voice sounded defeated, not unlike many of Niou's other teachers. "And also, please don't lean back on your chair like that. It could be dangerous." No one else even bothered to look up.

Obviously, this was not an uncommon thing to happen in Class 3-B.

"Yes, sensei." Niou's chair was on the ground again and he propped his head up on his hand, bored out of his mind. He continued to chew his gum and blow large bubbles, making sure they were popping loudly. At this point, the teacher had given up and just resumed as if nothing happened. Niou scrawled something on a sheet of paper, folded it into an airplane, and flew it over to Marui Bunta's desk, just five desks to the right of him. Marui unfolded the plane, cracked a smile, and then scribbled something on the paper, refolding and tossing the plane back. He chewed his own bubble gum, as it was what he was most known for. Niou wrote something back and folded the paper up, raising his arm to send the airplane flying again when the door suddenly opened.

The principal walked in with a rather plain-looking girl following him. She stood at average height, had shoulder length brown hair, gray eyes, and held a textbook in her hand and a black backpack. She looked around at the people of the class, who, by then, were all staring at her. But she seemed unfazed. The principal simply introduced her as Tanaka Yuki, a transfer student from St. Rudolph Gakuen, told the class to be welcoming, and walked out.

The teacher, clearly pleased to have the class's full attention for once, turned to the new student and asked her to introduce herself. Yuki just looked at the teacher, whose eyes were pleading to just say something, anything, so he didn't have to put on the guise of attempting to teach history to these unruly children. They didn't particularly care, anyways, and it was only the third day of school so why not waste some time?

She turned back to the class, deciding at that moment she didn't like this school by the way some of the girls stared disapprovingly at her disappointing plain-ness or some of the people in general who just didn't seem to care for anything other than getting out of school. "Well, the principal already told you I'm Tanaka Yuki. He also told you I transferred from St. Rudolph. But aside from that, I have a twin brother in some other class. His name is Yutaro, but you probably don't care. I play guitar too. That's about it. Anything else anyone cares to know?"

One kid raised his hand and asked, "Do you play any sports?"

Yuki stared at him. "Does it look like I play sports? Nope, I'm probably the most unathletic person you'll ever meet. Anyways, moving on; anything else?"

Everyone else just sat there. Some had resumed doodling on their textbooks or passing notes with their friends. The teacher, who looked at the clock and decided he could continue for another ten minutes, thanked Yuki for introducing herself and directed her to a seat in the front row by the door.

Niou, whose interest had been temporarily piqued by the arrival of a new victim – er, student – that he could play tricks on, had returned to doodling on his desk. He had her all figured out. She was just another girl with a slightly sarcastic tongue. Slightly different from your average girl, but not by much. Playing tricks on her would get boring after a while, but it was better than nothing. Besides, after he was done bothering this girl, he would have tennis to look forward to. Oh, just to think of all the fun he had there…

A mischievous grin spread across his face as his mind swam with possibilities. Possibilities that included a red faced Kirihara and a scowling Sanada. Ah, tennis season. His favorite season of the year.

He reread the note between him and Marui.

_This class is so boring. I wish something exciting would happen. Would it kill the teacher to attempt to make history interesting?  
You never know. Something exciting could happen. It could just come through that door right now, for all we know.  
Yeah right, as if._

Classes dragged on that day. The only subject Niou could really tolerate was math. Everything else was just…boring. Math provided a straightforward solution to everything, and that was why Niou didn't particularly mind it.

The same couldn't be said for Yuki, though. While she took a pretest that everyone else had taken on the first day of class, she could be heard muttering profanities under her breath, complete with a look of frustration upon her face. She bit her bottom lip occasionally and twirled her hair, sometimes looking at a wall or ceiling as if that would somehow give her inspiration. Niou, who didn't really have to pay attention in any of his classes to do well, actually found this display quite amusing and spent the class people watching.

-x-

When it was time for PE, the class all walked down to the gym to change and get ready to play tennis. Niou and Marui both donned bored expressions, for tennis to them was basically second nature. Niou bent down to make sure his ankle weights were on tightly and then checked his wrist weights. When everyone was out of the changing room and out on the tennis courts, the teacher blew his whistle and told everyone to pair up with someone, preferably of their caliber, to warm up with. Niou and Marui looked at each other, nodded, then each grabbed one of the crappy school tennis racquets and began to hit.

Yuki, yet again, appeared to be at the opposite end of the spectrum as Niou and Marui. Not only was she completely unathletic, but she didn't have a clue as to who her partner would be. She didn't know anyone, for crying out loud. Sighing, she tied back her hair in a ponytail and looked around, searching for anyone who looked athletically incompetent. Her eyes landed on a short girl who was walking towards the tennis racquets. _She looks nice enough. And like she doesn't really know how to play tennis._

"Ah, excuse me, would you like to be partners?" Yuki smiled nicely at her, hoping she wouldn't say she had a partner already.

The short girl looked up, recognizing Yuki as the new girl who claimed to suck at sports. She smiled warmly. "Sure, let's go over to that court to warm up." She pointed to the court next to Niou and Marui, who were playing with their non-dominant hands at this point. Yuki nodded and followed her there, grateful to have found someone who wouldn't completely reject her. The girl walked over to the other side of the court, facing the sun, and bounced the tennis ball a few times. "Ready?"

Yuki bent her knees, giving her a thumbs up. The girl fed the ball to her. It was a nice, slow and easy ball that she could return. "I got it," she said excitedly. Yuki felt a rush of adrenaline. Winding her arm back and positioning herself to hit the ball, she swung forward dramatically and hit…nothing. The ball bounced past her harmlessly, rattling the fence lightly as it made contact with it, as if to mock her.

Her shoulders slumped. She sighed. _I hate sports_. Her dejected mood and sad thoughts were interrupted by chuckling from someone nearby. Yuki looked up. It wasn't her partner that was laughing…so who was it? Her eyes followed the laughing to the next court over, at a boy with silver hair tied back in a ponytail who was trying to hide his laughter.

She glared at him. "Is something funny?"

He stopped laughing and looked her in the eyes, a completely serious expression on his face. "Yes."

"Oh, really? Mind telling me what it is?"

"I don't think I need to." Niou grinned.

Yuki found her gray eyes glaring at Niou's own dark blue ones for a few seconds before turning back to her partner, who was watching this exchange between Niou and Yuki but mainly transfixed by Niou. "Hey, let's continue."

Niou pulled out a tennis ball from his pocket. "Here, I'm sorry for laughing at you. Take this tennis ball."

Yuki caught the ball he tossed to her – much to her surprise, not that she would show it – and muttered, "Yeah, thanks." There was something suspicious about his sudden apology and peace offering. _Oh well._

Marui was about to serve the ball over when Niou held up one finger, signaling him to wait. Marui was confused. He followed Niou's line of sight to the girl at the court next to him. _The new girl? I didn't think she was Niou's type…_

He looked at Niou again and saw him snickering, like he was waiting for something to happen. Understanding dawned in Marui's eyes. He lowered his racquet and watched Yuki, blowing a watermelon-flavored bubble.

Yuki bounced the ball a couple times, then bounced it again and swung her racquet to hit it. Upon making contact with the small green sphere, something comparable to a mini-explosion happened. "Ah!" She coughed and waved the smoke away with her hands. What the heck was going on?

When the smoke cleared, Yuki looked down and saw the remains of what used to be a tennis ball. Her partner stood there, slightly surprised, then walked over to check if she was okay. Yuki slowly raised her head, fuming, to see Niou doubled over in laughter.

"Ah, Yuki-chan, are you okay?" Yuki's partner looked genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it wasn't anything dangerous. Just…irritating," she said, seething while she stared daggers at Niou's head. "Thanks, though. What's your name?"

"Me? Oh, I'm Takahashi Sayu. Just call me Sayu," she smiled and brushed some of Yuki's hair out of her face.

"Alright, Sayu-chan. What's," Yuki jabbed a finger in Niou's direction. "_that_ one's name? The idiot who can't stop laughing?"

"Ah, that's Niou Masaharu. He's one of the regulars on Rikkai's tennis team, and he's amazing at tennis. And he's not that bad looking either," she said, sighing in his general direction - out of admiration or something else, Yuki couldn't tell - before continuing. "He's known as the Trickster, which could explain this little incident with the tennis ball. Don't worry, Yuki-chan, I'm sure he didn't mean any harm. He just enjoys playing tricks on people."

Yuki's anger turned into incredulity. She stared at him in disbelief. _That_ guy was supposed to be Niou Masaharu? _The_ Niou Masaharu? The one her brother hoped to defeat one day? Sure, she had heard he was a trickster of sorts, but she assumed that meant he had a lot of sweet tennis moves or something. How naïve of her to think that junior high boys could actually be mature in the least. Yutaro would be in for a surprise if he had to play him to try out for the Rikkaidai tennis team. She had to warn her poor brother. Yuki shook her head, slapped her cheeks a bit, and marched up to Niou, who now stood straight up and watched her walk towards him.

She tilted her head up to look him in the eye. He had a good 25cm of height on her, but that didn't daunt her. "Niou Masaharu. You," she said, digging a finger into his chest, "are a fool. And you don't scare me." With that, she pivoted and walked back to Sayu.

Niou's eyes followed her back to her and watched her continue to concentrate only to miss the ball. He smiled devilishly. _Interesting,_ he thought, tossing a ball up in the air and serving it to Marui.

* * *

**A/N: **I'll be the first to admit, the first chapter isn't all too interesting. I'm pretty critical of my own writing and it's a pain...I feel so self conscious about it haha. But that's okay; review away!


	2. Chapter 2

**Of Tricksters and Transfers**

He had her all figured out…or so he thought. She didn't like him at all…or so she thought.

**A/N: **Hello again! A huge thank you to LOVEPocky, thesadisttensaifuji, EdgeOfInsanity, and Coco96 for the first reviews and my first confidence boosters =] You guys are great. And of course to the story alert-ers/favorite-rs too! I really truly appreciate you guys, and this great community on fanfiction.

Anyways, I won't talk much right now. Here's the second chapter!

* * *

After school, Yuki grabbed her guitar and went to find Yutaro. She finally caught sight of him with a group of people. He had his tennis bag on his back.

Unlike Yutaro, Yuki was not a social butterfly. In fact, they were basically polar opposites; Yuki preferred staying inside and playing her guitar while Yutaro loved getting outside and exercising. Yuki hated talking to new people or being a new person and Yutaro jumped at the chance to make new friends. Yuki enjoyed sitting by herself at high places where no one could reach her but Yutaro liked being on the ground where he could easily interact with others. Yutaro was good at math; Yuki, on the other hand, was pitiful. Yutaro wasn't a big fan of English; Yuki thought it was a beautiful language and always did well in English class. The list could go on. Despite all these differences, they actually got along quite well. Perhaps it was a twin thing.

"Yutaro!"

"Hey, Yuki, what's up?" He walked away with Yuki, waving goodbye to his new friends. One guy came with him holding a tennis bag. He looked foreign, with his brown complexion and bald head, but Yuki didn't really care.

"Are you going to tennis tryouts right now?"

"Yeah, I am. Are you going to come watch?"

"Heck no. You know me. I'm going to music club. But you know Niou Masaharu?" Yutaro's friend looked over at the mention of Niou's name.

"The Trickster of Rikkaidai? How could I not know him? But yeah, what about him?" He looked interested.

"He's actually…uh…" What was she supposed to say? "He's actually a real trickster"? No way. That sounded stupid. "Don't let appearances deceive you. He's a shady one. That's all."

Her brother and his friend laughed. The guy then spoke up, saying, "Yeah, he's got quite a few tricks up his sleeve…When he and Yagyuu Hiroshi are together, it's nothing short of amazing."

"Oh, Yuki, sorry I forgot to introduce you. Yuki, this is Jackal Kuwahara. Jackal, this is my twin sister, Yuki."

Jackal nodded. "Nice to meet you, Tanaka-san."

"Likewise, Jackal-kun. So are you and Niou good friends?"

"Well, we played tennis together for a few seasons already…we're well-acquainted with each other."

"I see. Could you pass along this message to him then? Tell him that if he screws up Yutaro's chances of making the team with his stupid tricks, he's going to wish he never gave me a freaking smoke bomb of a tennis ball."

Jackal and Yutaro raised their eyebrows inquisitively. Yuki 's face clouded over, a dark expression overtaking her normally bored face. "We were playing tennis in PE, right? Well, since I suck at tennis – actually, I suck at any sport in general, but I digress – I missed the ball that my partner hit to me. Niou started laughing at me and when I was glaring at him he apologized and tossed a tennis ball to me to make up for it or something. That stupid tennis ball _exploded_ when I hit it. Smoke attacked my face! It's unhealthy. And so is knowing Niou Masaharu. I apologize if anything like that has happened to you, Jackal-kun." She took a breath, finishing her rant.

They both stared at her. This was the most Yuki had ever spoken to a person she didn't know, and she realized that. Some faint spots of pink creeped onto her cheeks. "Anyways, just be sure to pass along my message. Good luck, Yutaro, Jackal-kun!" She turned and walked the other way towards the music room, eager to play her guitar.

-x-

Niou walked to the sidelines to get some water in the middle of his match against Jackal. Jackal and Niou both squirted water into their mouths and adjusted the weights on their wrists and ankles. Jackal walked over to Niou.

"You know Tanaka Yuki?"

Niou thought for a second. He then recalled the smoke bomb/tennis ball incident. "Oh, her. Yeah, why?"

Jackal chuckled. "She's an interesting character."

Niou thought for a second. "Yup."

"And she hates your guts, from what I gathered."

Niou laughed. "I bet it was because of that smoke bomb." Jackal just nodded.

"Probably not the best first impression to make."

He shrugged. "So what? What they think doesn't affect what I think, so it doesn't really matter."

Jackal sighed. "Niou, you really never change…" He remembered something. "Oh, and she told me to tell you that if you mess with her brother, she's going to make you wish you never gave her a 'freaking smoke bomb of a tennis ball.'"

Niou mulled over this. "Her brother? Who's her brother?"

Jackal nodded in Yutaro's general direction. "The tall kid over there with the brown hair, who is currently beating the crap out of his opponent. Granted, his opponent is a freshman..."

He watched Yutaro serve the ball and studied him for a few seconds, and then flashed Jackal a smile. "So when do I play him?"

Jackal shrugged. "I don't know. Probably soon, since you guys are in the same block and everything."

As it turned out, Yutaro would be playing Niou next in the selection tournament. When they met each other at the net to shake hands before starting, Yutaro smiled. "Ah, you're Niou-san, right? It's an honor to finally meet you. I really admire your tennis skills. Oh, and my sister told me about you. Tanaka Yuki?"

Niou shook his hand. "Yeah. I got her message too. Can't make any promises though."

He nodded his head in agreement. "Don't hold back."

The match began.

-x-

Yutaro's breathing was slightly heavy after the match finished, but Niou didn't even look like he broke a sweat.

"Wow, Niou-san, you're amazing. How did you manage to make yourself look exactly like Yuki?" He laughed, remembering Niou's imitation of her during the match. It definitely threw him off guard – he could never hurt his sister, not even if it wasn't really her. Even if only during a tennis match. Actually, especially during a tennis match, due to her incompetence at anything related to athletics.

Niou looked smug. "Just a little trick of mine."

"Well, thanks for the match. I look forward to playing you again eventually."

Matches were over for the day, and Yuki was standing by the fence, waiting. Yutaro noticed that she had a very angry expression on. She clenched her fist, tightening her grip on the handle of her guitar case. "That stupid Niou…Who does he think he is? Impersonating me? And with those ridiculous lines, nevertheless…If I ever get my hands on him…" Yuki's incoherent muttering continued and Yutaro could almost feel a dark aura emanating from where she stood.

"Hey. Hey! Yuki! Earth to Yuki!"

Her head snapped up. "Oh, hey bro."

"You, uh, okay?"

The dark shadow passed over her face again. "I'm going to kill him."

He smiled apologetically. "Sorry he makes fun of you so much."

As if that was a cue, Niou called from the bench, "Hey, Shadow Queen!" He was proud of this fitting nickname he bestowed upon the girl with the permanent dark aura surrounding her, and wasn't afraid to show it.

Yutaro winced a bit. It generally wasn't a good idea to get his sister pissed off. He glanced at her and saw her intense glare directed at every fiber of Niou's being. Good thing he was still a distance away. "Who. Are. You. Calling. A. Shadow. Queen." She placed an emphasis on each word, practically spitting out the sentence.

It was times like this when Yuki wished so desperately that she was back in Tokyo. She hated Kanagawa. She actually had _friends_ back in Tokyo, back at school, and she wished that her dad's stupid boss hadn't transferred their family over to stupid Kanagawa to go to this stupid school full of stupid people who cared about nothing but stupid sports! She couldn't take the stupidity anymore.

That was precisely when she decided that she would out-trick the trickster. She would strategize a way to defeat the notorious Niou and put an end to his ridiculousness once and for all.

Yuki stopped glaring at Niou long enough to calculate a few things in her head and pivoted, ready to destroy the idiot who deemed it his duty to make her life at school miserable. Two could play at that game.

Yutaro couldn't help but feel shivers. The fact that Yuki hadn't gone over and given Niou a piece of her mind but instead have some sort of realization that caused her to leave the premises was scary. Scarier than anything she'd ever done to him before, that's for sure. He shuddered visibly. The memories of spiders still haunted him sometimes.

* * *

**A/N: **Mmm yes. Conflict. The very meat of every story. We'll see where this goes; I'm still a tweaking the plot and everything and may possibly rewrite this depending on how things turn out. Maybe I'll reread it and decide it sucks, so I guess we'll just have to wait and find out, haha.

On a side note, updates will drastically slow down in the near future because second semester is getting incredibly busy with an extra class after school and track and eventually AP tests and all that good stuff. I apologize in advance for any slowness in updates you may notice, but I'll do my very best because you guys are wonderful =] Thank you!


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